Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew says he always felt safe in his job.

Pardew revealed he was reassured his job was never under threat despite their alarming slide, which saw the club drop to within two points of the relegation zone before their recent recovery.

He said: "It's rare in football to have the position that I have had, and even with the results I had, the message from upstairs was that I was going to be retained as manager, which was a good feeling for me - perhaps not so much for our fans at times.

"I hope to repay that in the longer term because obviously I was aware of the problems and I am aware of the problems we still have."